Thoroughbred horse racing on track to return to Michigan with reopening of Flint area track

Return of thoroughbred racing contingent on gaming control board stipulations

Racing would take place at Sports Creek, which closed in 2015

Northville Downs plans racing at current location through 2021

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Thoroughbred horse racing could make its return in Michigan after Hazel Park Raceway closed in April.

Thoroughbred horse racing will return to Michigan with 26 live events in the Flint area, if a plan to reopen a race track in Swartz Creek goes through.

Following the closure of Hazel Park Raceway in April, thoroughbred racing appeared to be extinct in Michigan. Now, plans to reopen Sports Creek Raceway in Swartz Creek could reverse course for the sport.

There are 26 days of live thoroughbred racing scheduled for Sports Creek next year on Fridays and Saturdays from June 15 through Sept. 7, with simulcasting throughout the year, according to a Wednesday news release from the Michigan Gaming Control Board. At Northville Downs, which is the only track open since Hazel Park closed, there will be 44 days of live simulcasted standardbred, or harness, racing — 16 fewer than the previous season. The track does not offer thoroughbred racing.

Delaware-based AmRace & Sports LLC plans to purchase the track in Swartz Creek that has been closed since 2015 and resume thoroughbred racing, according to a report from ABC 12. Several conditions must be met, on top of standard licensing and inspection guidelines, before that happens.

The gaming control board approved an application from AmRace, but the company must complete a lease or contract on or before Dec. 1 to use the race track. Additionally, on or before Dec. 28, it must strike an agreement with the Howell-based Michigan Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association, which represents thoroughbred horsemen in the state, and a totalizator company, which would keep record of bets made on races.

Simulcasting can be begin as soon as Jan. 1 if those orders are followed. A race calendar is available on the state's website.

"We are cautiously optimistic about the reopening of Sports Creek and the re-establishment of thoroughbred racing in Michigan," Richard Kalm, executive director of the gaming control board, said in the release. "It's good for the industry when fans can enjoy both harness and thoroughbred racing live in Michigan."

Horse racing generated a total of $3.5 million in revenue for the state in 2017 through simulcast wagering taxes as well as licensing and racing fees, according to an annual report from the gaming control board. It generated $3.86 million in 2016 and $3.89 million in 2015. Revenues have declined along with the sport's popularity in recent years.

The plan is for Northville Downs to move to a new location that has not been disclosed, said Margaret Parsons, staff accountant at the racetrack. She said the projected timeline calls for racing at the current track through 2021 before uprooting. She said the number of races scheduled for next season is a tentative number that could be increased, and added that the number is lower than last year as a matter of caution and not over-promising.